Only Human
by Dana-Lith
Summary: Young Rufus really has nothing to fear when his father decides he aught to learn about how the world works from the greasy head of the science department, does he? A few mis-placed coughs and his mothers pregnancy set dark things in motion.
1. Strange Cough

Rufus sprawled comfortably on one of the plush black sofa's that dotted the Turks lounge

Kay then, random multi-chapter story on our favourite VP and our not so favourite scientist! Eh…'tisn't very good but my friend liked it so I'm posting it.

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Rufus sprawled comfortably on one of the plush black sofa's that dotted the Turks lounge. Head lolling on the wide armrest he gazed distractedly out of the panoramic window at the fogged view of Midgar beyond, a slight worried frown etched onto his young face despite the comfort of his surroundings. Suddenly a deeper breath than normal from the fourteen-year-old hear to Shinra Electricity Inc. set off a violent bout of coughing. His body jerked slightly with the force of the spasms as he curled in around himself and tried to stifle the tickly irritability in his throat that was to blame for the bone-jarring coughs echoing through his small frame.

Rufus jumped in surprise when a firm hand landed gently on his shoulder and pushed a cp of water into his hands, accepting it gratefully Rufus gulped it down. As the cool liquid soothed his aching throat he glanced at the person who had handed it to him, Reno crouched by his side, one hand still on his shoulder and a broad grin on his face which to anyone who didn't know him well enough would seem cheerful, but Rufus could see the underling concern in his eyes,

"That's quite a cough ya got goin' there half-pint," Reno muttered, "maybe I aughta get Tseng to go all Wutaian Housewife at ya with some of that herbal shit he gave Rude…." The joking tone of his voice was quite ruined by the worried frown he chose to let slip through. Shaking his head Rufus replied in a voice made hoarse by coughing,

"Don't even think about it, Reno. It's just a cough, there's no need to tell Tseng. He'd just worry unnecessarily." Reno pulled a face at Rufus's stubbornness but passed no comment.

Confident that the lack of argument from the flame-haired Turk indicated his victory on that point Rufus pulled away from Reno's hand and settled back against the cushions of the couch, the contemplatively anxious look slipping back onto his face as his thoughts drifted. A light tap on his shoulder startled him into the present and only a quick gulp of water from the glass in his hands prevented another coughing fit. Glaring lightly at Reno he snapped irritably at the red-head, "What?" Reno's grin widened and he poked Rufus again, "You seem tense, yo. That's all." came the amused reply. Glare intensifying Rufus hissed back, "Well I'm not!" and shifted on the couch so that he was facing away from the Turk. Reno stared at Rufus's back, he knew the kid had a short fuse but all the same it usually took something much bigger to make him so angry.

A full fledged from wormed onto his face as he observed the stiff set of Rufus's shoulders and the way the glass shook slightly with the trembling of his hands. Sighing Reno carefully moved till he was in front of Rufus with the speed that had made him one of the best Turks and placed his hands on Rufus's knees to stop him turning away. He peered up at the bowed head of his employers son as he tried to jerk away from Reno's hold and his strawberry blond bangs fell across his eyes, _'He'll need a haircut soon'_ the domestic side of Reno that he'd never admit to having cut in randomly as he tried to pick his words. Finally deciding he moved closer so that he could see into Rufus's icy blue eyes and spoke softly, "Ruf'? What's up, man?" He gained a weak glare for the use of the nickname but before the stubborn child before him could open his mouth to deliver a suitably acidic retort Reno returned the glare with one of his own and continued in a slightly fiercer tone than necessary, "And don't you even think of saying 'Nothing', Rufus. 'Cause it's obviously something."

Rufus looked away uncomfortably and muttered rebelliously, "But it _is_ nothing."

Reno sighed in annoyance and snapped back, "Bullshit Rufus. I've known you since you were three years old, I can _tell_ when you're lying!" He sighed again as Rufus still refused to look at him and continued in a quiet tone, "you're like a brother to me Ruf'. _Anything_ that's bothering you, no matter how silly, you can tell me." Shifting in discomfort Rufus dropped his gaze to his hands after a short pause he glanced up at Reno and replied hesitantly, "You…mean that?" the jumble of emotion in the blue eyes before him shocked Reno, there was a desperation in them he'd never seen before…Plastering a grin on his face he replied jauntily, "Sure do half-pint!" He watched as relief flooded the small, pale face of his charge and he dropped his gaze back to his lap. Feeling a prompt might be needed Reno spoke up, "So? You gonna tell me or not?" Rufus's mouth twisted in…what? Distaste? Fear? Reno couldn't tell. He replied in a small voice that for once made him sound as young as he looked, "It really is nothing….My _father_", that word was spat with as much loathing as the teen could muster, "Simply decided that since I've learnt petty much everything else…I aught to be taught a little bit more about…science…"

Reno frowned, not quite sure why this should have gotten Rufus so worked up, after all, he hadn't even gotten so jumpy when he found out he was going to be taught how to withstand interrogation through practical examples…Before he could interject Rufus continued, in an even quieter voice, "By Professor…Hojo…"And suddenly everything made sense, the head of Shinra's science department was one seriously creepy guy, Reno could see why the thought of having to spend god knows how long being _taught_ by the man should upset the boy so much…

A second sudden attack of coughing from Rufus brought Reno out of his thoughts and he joked weakly in an attempt to cheer Rufus up, "Hey, it might not be as bad as you think…and if all else fails I'll help ya pull a sicky, yo." This earned him a sour glare as the coughing subsided, "Thanks a bunch Reno," Rufus said sarcastically once he had control of his larynx back, "I feel so much better knowing you'll be there to protect me."

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Er…review?


	2. Just My Luck

Sickly golden light poured in through the tinted windows over the heavy set man as he paced impatiently behind the desk

Hi, long time no update!

Sorry about that ; er…I'll try to be quicker!

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, not even a little.

Sickly golden light poured in through the tinted windows over the heavy set man as he paced impatiently behind the desk. He turned in a titanic shifting of red fabric as the door clicked open and a stooped man in a soiled white lab coat entered. The light of the dying day reflected eerily off his glasses as he approached the large man already in the room.

"Well?" snapped the red-coated giant tersely. A malicious grin split the bespectacled man's face as he replied in a nasal voice,

"Everything is as I predicted, in six months your son will be born and the _other_ one will be redundant." A feral smirk of triumph flitted over the paunchy jowls of the fat man, "Are you sure?" he demanded. A raucous chuckle burst forth when the stooped man in the white coat nodded, "Finally!" He crowed, "Finally I can do away with that pest!"

The greasy haired man before him ventured, "So then our agreement…?" Waving dismissively the red clothed man said, "Yes, yes. Consider the brat yours! Just don't kill him…" With a ribald wink he turned away from the grimy scientist to stare with unmasked joy over his empire. Finally he would be rid of that pathetic excuse for a son that had pestered him for so long, now he would have an heir worthy of his work…

Sighing exasperatedly Rufus stared at Reno in mild annoyance,

"Just what the _hell_ is that supposed to be?!" He snapped, gesturing at the tortured mess on top of what used to be his desk. The flame headed Turk grinned sheepishly,

"Well, you see, I was trying to see what happened when spaghetti…" Rufus cut him off with a groan, "Forget I asked!" stifling a cough with the back of his hand he glanced up at the wall mounted clock in the corner of the room.

Folding his arms he huffed lightly, "Get up, we're going to be late…" Reno scrambled to his feet, brushing off a few stray leaves he peered at Rufus fro behind his mop of messy red hair, "You sure you wouldn't rather skip it half-pint?" The scathing look he received in reply was answer enough and he held up his hands in mock surrender as they exited the vice-presidents office and began to make their way towards the levels which housed the science department.

Whistling tunelessly Reno trailed behind his charge absentmindedly, "Hey, you think I could convince your secretary to go on a date with me?" he asked randomly. Rufus paused and stared at him incredulously, "What does that have to do with anything?" Reno grinned and shrugged, "Just making conversation, yo!" Whatever retort Rufus might have made was interrupted as they turned the corner to the corridor leading to the labs.

A white coated woman stood tapping her foot impatiently by the doors to the ponderous lift which would carry them all to the lower levels of the building,

"You're late." She snapped as they drew level, receiving an icy glare from Rufus that Reno had seen make Tseng back off. The scientist just glared back and punched the button that would call the lift as if she held a personal grudge against it and stalked in. Rufus stepped in after her, glancing down as a dark stain on the back of the woman's otherwise pristine coat caught his eye. He immediately wished he hadn't as he realised it was blood.

As the heavy iron doors clanged shut and the lift began it's slow journey to the bowels of the building a coughing fit overtook Rufus. Doubling over slightly he tried futilely to stifle the burning ache at the back of his throat and wiped irritably at the pricks of moisture that the violent coughs brought to his eyes. Reno bent down by his side, rubbing his back soothingly as the last of the wracking spasms subsided, anxiously he whispered to Rufus, "You _sure_ you wouldn't rather pull a sicky yo?" Shooing the Turk away Rufus straightened muttering in a determined voice which failed to fool even himself, "Of course…"

The strange female scientist stared at him in detached interest, "That's a nasty cough you have there…" Rufus glanced at her sharply, made wary by the slightly smug tone in her voice as she continued, "Didn't you bring anything to drink with you?" Shaking his head slowly he frowned as she replied seriously, "Oh but you should _always_ carry a bottle of water, particularly down here…" Before either Reno or Rufus could ask what she meant by this statement the lift ground to a halt and the doors opened with a soft hiss.

Taking a steadying breath Rufus glanced at Reno, as if for reassurance, before stepping out into the dimly lit corridor that awaited. Stepping out of the shadows towards them Professor Hojo emerged like a shadowy monster out of some small child's nightmare, his grating, nasal voice echoing towards them,

"Really now Rufus, there was no need to bring your pet bodyguard…I'm afraid I'll have to ask him to leave." Eyes narrowing Rufus asked softly, "Why?" Smiling that annoyingly self satisfied smile he so favoured the Professor replied, "I wouldn't want him getting in the way, who knows what kind of damage he could cause to my experiments!" Reno glared in annoyance, but his indignant reply was cut short when Rufus said softly, "You heard him Reno, wait for me outside…"

Staring at the slightly bowed head of his blonde haired charge Reno turned and walked slowly into the iron behemoth of a lift. "Bloody creepy scientist…" he muttered resentfully. Turning calmly to lead the way deeper into his shadowy domain Hojo replied blandly, "That's _Professor_ bloody creepy scientist to you, Turk." Spinning on his heel Reno yelled after the greasy haired back of the Professor, "I'll call you whatever the hell I like, freak!"

With a hiss of closing doors and a clank of mechanisms the heavy lift took off, leaving Rufus alone in the dank laboratory levels. "This way, Rufus…" Hojo said in an oddly sinister voice barely masking malicious glee. Shuddering and pushing down the urge to cough again Rufus fell in behind the pale outline of the Professor, the heels of the quiet female scientist's shoes clicking ominously on the floor behind him.

Pretty please review!

I'll give you cyber-cookies?


	3. IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

Hi everyone and anyone who might read my stories,

It's been a little over a year since I've properly updated anything and I just wanted to say I'm _so_ sorry! I know I promised to update things and I haven't, this is the first time in a while I've been able to get on a computer that works properly.

December 2008 our desktop computer at home broke - it still turned on but it wouldn't connect to the router even though we checked everything and the connections were fine, mum refused to let us buy a new one insisting that the old one was 'fine' ¬_¬. So long story short after that my computer use was crippled, I've only been able to get online in school and teachers ain't so happy when you write fanfics instead of essays so…yeah…Anyway it took me this long to save enough money to buy myself a laptop. (on that note I _love_ my new laptop! It's so fast and, and…shiny! 8D It's my precious…)

Eh-hem…yes, anyway. So I have a laptop now, so I should be able to get back into some semblance of normal updating, yes?

No.

I'm really sorry about this part but I'm in a really important year for me school wise - if I don't make my education my priority then I'll just sink like a stone, the workload is unbelievable L But! I don't want to abandon fanfiction completely, I really love this site and some of the people out there are just lovely (Wulfeh for example - my LOTR story is officially dedicated to you!) So to keep some semblance of balance I'm going to choose ONE of my multi-chapter stories to keep writing.

This doesn't mean I'm abandoning my other stories, it just means I'm going to take them down and wait 'til the selected story is finished before moving on to the others. On that note…it's time for a vote.

Anyone who's still paying attention to my scribblings and can be bothered, please review or PM me with the story of mine you most want to see continued right now, after two weeks the story most people are interested in is the one I'll keep going.

Sorry again and please, please, please vote soon!

Dana-Lith


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